world war 2 photo o a sailor kissing a woman. it's being installed on the san diego waterfront. the statue will be dedicated on friday. studio "b" live from rome with shepard smith starts right now. >> shep: it's 3:00 on the east coast and noon on the west coast and 9:00 p.m. on a gorgeous night one day after the stunning announcement that the pope is stepping down. today, we're learning much more about his health approximate, carefully guarded secret until now. the vatican reveals that pope benedict has pacemaker in his heart long before being elected as pope back in 2005. months ago, we now know he had surgery to replace the pacemaker batteries, an operation that was conducted in absolute secrecy.

vatican says it was routine. the shock waves continue to reverberate for catholics around the world and a lot of folks seem to have the same reaction, even if it's something the world hasn't seen in six centuries. >> i shows what a truly humble servant. he loved our church so much, he didn't let pride get in the way. >> probably we're in the right times and listen to the catholic church and new generation of catholics. >> its demanding job. it takes a special person at that age to handle the day to day and far reaching plans of the church. >> i appreciated the word father smith used, retiring. when you can't do the job, hand it over. >> retiring is something we have never thought of but his retirement years, vatican says he will be moved in the vatican

owned villa, a monastery where crews are working on renovations. a handful of people at the vatican knew it was going to be the pope's new home. and then most likely the bishop of rome emeritus, retired bishop of rome. it's not clear whether he will go back to benedict or go back to joseph. another bolt from the blue, lightning struck the dome of st. petersburg basilica. much more live from rome a little bit later coming up on studio "b." >> shep: north korea claims it has followed through on a third nuclear test, first in four years or just about four. the rogue nation's leaders have made it clear they have set their sights on the united states.

north korea reported this latest test is direct response to the reckless hostility of the united states. last month, defense ministers calmed the u.s. their prime target for nuclear tests and long-range missile launch but for now it's unclear how much of a threat north korea poses. experts say they don't believe the nation's has developed warheads somewhat are small enough to fit on the rockets. reports of the new tests would match up with what u.s. scientists say is a light to moderate earthquake. it shook the ground at roughly 5.0 near a known testing site. now, of course, the backlash as leaders including president obama condemn the move. this video shows north koreans applauding in the streets. in a nation where millions are starving, according to south korean estimates, north korea

has spent more than three billion dollars on its nuclear program. enough to feed the country for three years. we'll have more from the state departmental but first to jonathan hunt live at the united nations in manhattan. a rare show of unity of the united nations. >> members gathered that it became apparent that the nuclear test had, indeed, taken place. u.s. ambassador susan rice described it as a threat to regional and international peace and stability and joined the other members in, quote, strongly condemning north korea's action. ambassador rice said that there will be consequences. listen.... >> when the council responded to the last provocation in violation of its obligation we said and the council said that

was clearly committed in resolution 20787 to take, and i quoted, significant action in the event of any further launch using ballistic missile technology or another nuclear test. indeed, we will do so. >> reporter: now it's unclear at this stage what that quote, significant action will amount to but it's most likely, shep, to be a toughening of economic punishment or sanctions as the u.n. likes to call them against the north korean government. >> shep: jonathan, how much closer do they say this activity brings north korea to potentially at least hitting the united states? >> reporter: you remember the rocket launch of north koreans carried out last december. that showed in theory according to the experts that they do have a long-range missile capable of reaching parts of the united states including alaska and

hawaii. but the big question here is getting a nuclear weapon small enough that you can mount it on the warhead of such a long-range missile. most experts will tell you the north koreans are at least three years away from being able to master that technology. of course, it's not just about hitting the united states directly. there is also the fear they might share what nuclear technology they have with the likes of iran and two things here. iran would obviously only need to hit israel to spark world war three. north koreans would only need to send a nuclear tipped missile as far as japan if they wanted to spark a major international crisis. >> shep: jonathan hunt, reporting from the united nations. let's bring in former intelligence over, make barrett. he is ceo of intelligence firm,

what is your sense as it relates to north korea? >> it's a good news, bad news. we've been dealing with this for 50 years. these are unstable and bit insane but the likelihood of a conflict tomorrow or next week is very low. flip side is exactly what jonathan was saying, that the technology -- this is a disaster of a country. they have limited economic means. they have limited access to the outside world. even they are able to build an intercontinental missile the components of that and something nearing the size of a warhead where you could create real problems. the technology proliferation and ability to use computers to simulate the at the times and having more people how these things are done, that increases overall risk. >> shep: because the terrorists, whoever they are fill in the blank with a name and location, may be able to get a hold of this and maybe even come up with their own technology? >> right, exactly.

we look at risk as a function of likelihood and intent. people have intent but fortunately they don't have the capability to carry out the attack. every time somebody has further knowledge about this, however more scientists understand the key components in creating a nuclear warhead that is bad for global security. >> shep: mike, is this a test just for their own uses or is this something like a display at a supermarket where would you say to those that might want to buy your product, hey, look what we can do? >> at one level it is a display of sort of their wares and we've seen that on the black market north korea is active about a whole host of arms proliferation. the other piece is this is insular regime and sending a message to their people. we hear a message, it's aimed at

american hostility. we don't even know what usual talking about. most americans couldn't find out map and we don't care. in north korea you've been told that america is aggressive and targeting you every day for 50 years. there is a whole slew of people in north korea that believe that. so a lot of this is about the regime establishing themselves and convince people they are under threat and bad economics and no food is result of american aggression. we have to worry about that spilling over. this is not next week but at some point that regime will collapse and all of the people there have been told for years this propaganda about america, we have to worry how that is going to play out. >> shep: don't hated us, your government hates the united states and mike, we appreciate

you. it's cold out here tonight. >> the ex-cop accused of killings in los angeles area is still on the run. police say they are watching for him at the mexican border and reviewing surveillance video that might shed light on his escape plan. they say christopher dorner shot and killed three people and listed dozens of targets, manifesto type of thing. he claims the department fired him after he accused another officer of using excessive force. he now vows only when the truth comes out will the killing stop. the ex-cop a triple murder suspect with a one million bounty on his head. new court documents suggest that he may have had an accomplice. trace gallagher is live. possible accomplice, what kind of person?

>> trace: the court papers say a known associate of chris dor they are and this jay y person has a family that owns a home in big bear. when they were purchase veiling the property they found his truck. and jay y was seeing about 80 miles away. christopher dorner mentioned jason young whose family owns a home in big bear. now, police are trying to figure out if this jay young or jay y helped him get out of the big bear area. >> shep: what about this southwest video? i haven't seen it, but it appears to show him buying suib about a gear? >> it was bought at sporting

store south of los angeles. video from tmz, very unclear how the scuba tanks fit into the plan but they say he tried to steal a boat in san diego and he was planning to take that bet on to mexico but got a rope caught and had to flee. the report said the first boat attempt was before the police officers were shot north of san diego. now we know the boat attempt was after that and later they found his identification near the border crossing between san diego and tijuana. his truck was found hours later and now they are trying to figure out if mexico plays a bigger role in the search for christopher dorner. >> shep: you have to wonder. trace, thanks. the picture is clearly coming to go bit by bit but is it getting

closer to capture him? more on the manhunt and hours away from president obama's state of the union address. we know one big announcement he'll make. 34,000 u.s. troops are headed home from afghanistan and soon. we'll explain when. that and more of what to expect in a special edition of studio "b" live tonight from rome on a crystal clear but chilly evening as they get ready to celebrate the life of one pope and to bring in another. oh! progress-oh! [ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your progress-oh! story on facebook.

>>. >> shep: the rogue ex-cop accused of being in a killing rampage has now triggered the biggest manhunt in u.s. history. but the online ranted against the pd on racism and injustice have spawned facebook fan pages with thousands of likes. one social media analyst, if you take away the fact he has killed

innocent people, people identify with his messages, but the problem is he has killed innocent people. these are his victims and vowed that the quote casualty rate will be high. forensic psychologist dr. sheryl eric joins us live. is it your sense that she hunk eggering down and planning for more here? >> well, shep, if christopher dorner were a character in a hollywood film who suddenly had gotten so mad that he couldn't take it anymore and gone out and done this, the audience would be rooted go for him. it's not okay that he has killed these people, of course, but people are identifying with his message. i think what he is saying if the truth doesn't come out, that the casualty rate will go up. i think that is key as i've been reading his words.

what the is a emerging a man for whom his honor and his good name were very important. obviously, now, he has killed innocent people, but when i look at what he has done, he seems to feel desperation at the end of his rope like no one was listening. i think that is probably a key to the puzzle to stopping this. >> shep: every time or many times he used the word name of speaking of his own name, it's all in caps and the los angeles police department it's reopening the investigation. i wonder whether for his edification or something bigger but could that help? >> i think it definitely could help. i think if we look at the enormous cost both in lives and financially and resources and having this kind of showdown

with this man, you look what seems to be motivating him. he went through all the proper channels. he filed a complaint that he felt was true. there was cover-up and he has tried different ways. i think what he really wants is to be heard and to have a voice. i think if there were a way to give him access to that and say, okay, give yourself up. face the music. we're going to give you a chance to have a voice, i really think this would stop. >> shep: i don't know how in the world you give a triple murderer a voice at this point, but i hear what you say. >> that is the tricky part. >> shep: you look at the facebook rants, following his line of thinking feeling like the voice is not heard. if you are police you would certainly want to keep this from being the one to whom they would do that.

>> thank you so much. >> shep: nobody really knows what will happen as pope benedict leaves the catholic church in rome, no one knows because it hasn't happened since christopher columbus was born. positive more coming up.

>>. >> shep: 23 minutes past 9:00 and officials at the vatican face a task that we've never seen, how to wind down pope benedict xvi office in 17 case they are treading new ground and they don't have all the answers. will they have to ri destroy the pope's ring like they do when a

pope dies or will he be referred to his holiness. all that remains to be seen. amy kellogg joins us now, this is uncharted territory? >> it is. we have been talking about this conclave that is going to choose naught pope and how it's been made up by cardinals made up by this pope and predecessor. they reflect the same ideology as the last two popes. i thought it would be interesting what catholics felt around town. i spoke to them at st. peter's square today and met a bus load of students from brussels who said basically one of them wants to be a priest. i asked him what he would like to see in pope benedict's successor. >> communication is very important, just being clear and

groups of people, i think they should make clear that the love of god is for everyone and try to communicate that. >> shep, pope benedict started tweeting and just before he decided to resign. young people said it's not about the twitter and facebook pages, it's about a pope who really knows how to get the message across that the church is still relevant to them. >> shep: mixed feelings how successful he was bringing people to the church? >> i asked greg burke that question and history will tell the story, he says. he thinks this pope is successful but i spoke to more people out on the street and bringing people into the church because, of course, pope benedict there is aggressive secularism out there and that bringing people is very

important. >> having people to return to the church and getting people come back to the church and getting other people to join the faith. >> there you have it. i think we'll be watching this very closely. everybody is speculating on whether it's going to be a pope from the first world, third world, the important thing is that its pope that is charismatic and a pope like this one or some s a globetrotter like the last one remains to be seen. we're waiting for the white smoke. >> shep: most democrats and republicans back home say automatic spending cuts could harm the country but they can't agree on a plan to avoid them. latest from d.c. and plus president obama set to make a major announcement. that is coming up as we approach the bottom of the hour and top of the news as studio "b" reports live from rome. ( bell rings ) they remind me so much of my grandkids.

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>>. >> shep: i'm shepard smith and this is studio "b." time for the top of the news, live tonight from rome. back in washington, senate democrats are reportedly working on trying to avoid the spending cuts that will s supposed to take effect next month. they say it could hurt the nation's economy but as usual, they are unable to agree on an (a) solution. top story and jennifer griffin

is live at the pentagon, does it looks like this sequester is going to happen? >> it was never supposed to. congress only has 16 days to act to stop these huge cuts from going into effect. joint chiefs and deputy defense secretary were on capitol hill outlining the danger. >> secretary panetta and i have been using the word devastating for 16 months now. i testified last august to the consequences of sequestration if it was to occur. now, the wolf is at the door. >> i begin my career in a hollow army, i do not want to end my career in a hollow army. >> this would be the steepest, biggest reduction in total obligated go authority for the defense department in history at a time that is more dangerous than it's ever been. >> the navy had to cancel the

deployment to the u.s.s. truman. army chief warned they would have to curtail training 80% of the ground forces. 3,000 small businesses will lose army contracts and could face bankruptcy they warned if sequester is not stopped. >> shep: on another subject, the president tonight at the state of the union expected to fill out the details of a dramatic troop drawdown in afghanistan? >> he is expected tonight to announce that 34,000 u.s. troops will be home at this time next year from afghanistan. that is about half of the force that is currently serving in afghanistan. again, this is going to be announced that the state of the union address tonight. the president decided to cut the force in half a year before a complete withdrawal in 2014. it's not clear he and the afghan president will agree to stay

past 2014. >> shep: jennifer, thanks. earlier today at the white house the president had a few words to say about tonight's state of the union address. >> we'll find out everything i've got to say tonight. >> shep: but analysts say president obama will also address the economy and jobs plus immigration, gun violence after the deadly shooting after sandy hook in connecticut. latest polls show that voters are split on the president's job performance. 49% when asked in general how he is doing approve. 45% disapprove. those numbers are about the same as they were one year ago. let's bring in the associate editor and columnist the hill, a.b. stodard and michael walden,

a former speech writer. the defense department upset about is sequester but if everybody has to cut back why should the department of defense has to gated back? >> robert gates made the argument there was definitely money to find in the pentagon budget and it could be cut along with the rest in an attempt to reduce spending, but it's the way that the sequester is designed, the way that it is set up to do a blunt force across the board cutting that doesn't make sense. it doesn't take into consideration sensitive areas. it only exempts veterans' benefits and so it's not smart cutting. so people that are worried about the pentagon cutting and domestic cuts because it's designed to be so irresponsible and so reckless congress and

president wouldn't let it go through. now there are no ideas on the table that are going to get traction to create a compromise to stop it from going through. >> shep: sit your sense they have to come up with something. politicians realizes this can't be. a.b.put it very well, when this is just stupid, that even that bunch wouldn't make it happen? >> congress took itself hostage. now it may blow itself up. this is the after effect by the house republicans to really force a default on the debt back in 2011. we're still really seeing this play out. i would bet you will see in the speech that president obama will try to lay out some parameters for what he'll call a balanced deal and maybe try to push

congress toward. i wouldn't be surprised to get toward a real deal if there is one if they kick the can down the road yet again. congress tends to do that sort of thing. it's hard to get a deal like this done. >> shep: can kicking is getting old to a lot of people. >> it certainly is. the problem is the republicans who were so upset about the defense cuts are willing to live with the sequester because they don't want a balanced approach and they don't want to raise taxes and willing to let the sequester come on line because they can say they got spending cuts. without it they don't have any spending cuts. >> shep: but the delay is two and a half seconds from rome, if you go ahead with the spending cuts, doesn't the history of economic cuts, if you stop spending the economy will grind to a halt? haven't we seen what happened in europe for instance when europe

cut all of their spending and now they have gone into a second recession, is that really wanted we want just on principles? >> shep, i'm not going about a to back up the policies of president obama or republicans in congress but what they are proposing, one side is saying we cannot get the growth without cutting back. the other side, president obama is saying we can't grow without spending. we'll get it later to bring the debt down. what you have is a total black and white picture. republicans do feel raise taxes on new year's even and they can't do it again. president is saying it has to be balanced and the other it can't be balanced. we're at a standstill. no matter what he says in the state of the union, about new investments and manufacturing and investments in creation, republicans are still going to say, we'll see you in march when the sequester comes on line and

we have to come up with government funding. >> shep: go ahead. >> i was going to say in what the president needs to argue tonight, he needs to make a broad argument about the economics in the way you just did. you know what it would be folly to move to austerity right now. when the economy ground to a halt in the fourth quarter in anticipation of this very sequester, we need investment but real fiscal discipline and real entitlement reform. it's the short term, long term distinction that congress and our political system have such a hard time grappling with. >> shep: it ra really is. good to talk to both of you. thank you. raw sewage plashd on the walls, long waits for scraps of food, onion sandwiches as they spoke. this for passengers on their dream trip. stranded cruise ship headed

toward mobile. we'll talk to the husband of one of those passengers next. response to north korea's nuclear test, pretty predictedable, swift and angry. we'll get the latest from the state department, live tonight in rome. ♪ [ instrumental ] [ girl ] when i started playing soccer, i wasn't so good. [ barks ] so me and sadie started practicing. we practiced a lot.

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>>. >> shep: the streets on rome, you probably heard about horrible conditions on a cruise ship. it's floating unable to be pushed forward in the gulf of mexico. it's growing worse by the hour there. there is not much access to food. the bathrooms are disgusting if they work at all. there is sewage leaking into the cabins and hallways. no ventilation. imagine what it smells like down in the cabins of this thing. it has forced some passengers to sleep on deck with n horrible

conditions. with more than 3,000 people on board. ship has been dead in the water since sunday after a fire in the ship's engine room. it drifted so far north that officials who were first going to send it to mexico and tow it there is now set to tow it to mobile. it should be there some time day after tomorrow. toby's wife ann is stranded on that ship. his wife says there is three and a half hour wait for food and that she can't even get back into her room. what a nightmare. how are you communicating? >> pretty much by text. it always seem about 5:45 or when the other ship comes close enough so they can get a signal off of there. pretty much yesterday was just by text message. she called some other news

agency. she was able to get a call out. i think today, the last call from carnival was at 7:29 yesterday. basically told us they are going to reroute to mobile because of the situation. there is no message at all from them. >> shep: we're over in rome for a few days. the local news, local cable outlets are reporting on that. down in our newsroom, why don't they just send boats out and try to get these people off? is there too many people and too big a task? >> no, they haven't said anything. i know just watching other reports, i didn't hear anything from ann but hearsay, they say

the boat at one time five or six foot waves, it was leaning to the side. one of the gentleman felt the boat was going to tip over. like i said, that is just hearsay. i know for a fact there is sewage in their room. a lot of clothes are ruined. it's deplorable conditions. i think they are pretty resourceful, if anyone -- she said the elderly and handicapped were having a rough time getting around and no explanation from carnival at all. they are still running the media campaign, basically right before the local news, carnival cruise ads, think that takes a lot of nerve on their part. >> shep: that is like the

airline after there has been a plane crashed. thankfully we haven't been able do that. they can't be comfortable. toby, best toy and your wife. give us a ring when she gets back. so much for the dream cruise. >> backlash from around the world, north korean's announcement they conducted a nuclear test. even china has condemned the move and that may be a big deal because the chinese government reports expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition with meeting with north korean's ambassador. for the chinese, one office worker in beijing is adding, i quote, we are celebrating the new year, but it feels like someone just tossed a hand grenade at my front door. james live at the state department. >> good afternoon. chinese are hardly alone in that

feeling. president obama has he braces for his state of the union address here in washington, this is the first foreign policy crisis of his second term. state department officials say the u.s. and its allies in the far east have been spending the last year telling north korean dictator that pyongyang can enjoy better relations in the world if they abandon that you are michael program. the message is stern. >> to address the situation posed by north korea's threatening activity, u.n. security council will deliver a swift and strong response by way of the security council resolution. >> reporter: at around 10:00 last night, u.s. geological survey recorded a seismic event that was twice the magnitude of the second test back in 2009.

they say this time is different because it appears not to be an experiment but the test of an operational nuclear bomb. >> it appears this is uranium weapon that has been totally weaponized and capable to be made into a delivery system. a threat that may have bone a decade off before the test, it now appears to be three to five years off with this new breakthrough by the north koreans. >> you heard the general scales the uranium. that would be different. last two tests conducted by north korea were fueled by reprocessed plutonium. this is sign their program is expanding. >> shep: james, thank you. one vatican official here in rome says this is a time for tranquility and reflection, a nod to the fact that nobody knows exactly holds for the church.

vatican's next step and how soon we will see the famous white smoke as we continue live from rome, steps from the eternal city.

>>. >> shep: eight minutes before the hour and live at rome where vatican will usher in a new era. it's the first time we've seen a pope retire, we came familiar with the process after the death of pope john paul ii. white smoke coming 24 hours after the voting began signaling the start of pope benedict's eight years heading the church. today we went down where it all happened down in vatican city. >> as of february 28 the papal apartment will be vacant and as the rules dictate, they will have 15-20 days to bring all the

cardinals around the world here, under the age of 80. they will lock themselves in the sistine chapel and begin the process. there will be secret ballots, after each ballot paper slips will be burned. white smoke will arise when they have news of great joy. >> we have a pope. that announcement will come right there from the balcony just as it did in this very spot eight years ago. >> shep: we don't know when it will happen but we'll get a better idea tomorrow. changing the face of catholicism for many years to come. with us is joan lewis, she worked at the vatican for information services 34 years. >> in rome. >> shep: you never saw? >> i never thought i would be here 27 years and getting to

know the cardinal, you can call this moment, shep, the phrase of rastsingers and there is rat singers. that is all you can think about. it's so understandable. he is humble person. he is so loved the church. more than anything else. fact he may be the guy that would be participate in liturgy. this is for the good of church. it had to pain him to resign but he knew it was right thing to do. >> shep: now a challenge ahead, bringing people together on the kind of pope. i sense that people want someone young? >> i think that is fair. someone younger and cardinal has

asked himself questions and they will be coming to rome. they will talk to each each other than age and good health. they are going to look at person's health. do we want language ability? do we want a pope who has good relations with other faiths? with muslims and jews? someone that can cross bridges. one of pope's titles which means great bridge builder. so they are going to look to someone that can build and go over and go over a lot of bridges. >> shep: so many are saying we want a black pope or we want someone from latin america. i'm guessing the future is one of those places if not both? >> you look at the growing church, absolutely. if you look at the numbers of the church right now and they are growing by 80% in africa, we

will know within a month. latin america or africa. >> shep: so good to see you. we'll be right back in just a second and on to your world. stay with us. [ female announcer ] today, jason is here

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>>. >> shep: folks along the mississippi coast will say every day is party but today it's marti gras, fat tuesday. ♪ >> shep: cloudy skies today but a chance for a downpour, but the big easy drawing a big crowd to watch the annual parade with all those colorful floats and nonstop jazz music. brazil celebrates its own carnaval tradition. the party ends tomorrow when catholics head to church for the first day